Cooking with heat

So for whatever reason, I've been thinking about our grocery budget lately. In the sense that I'm sure we spend more than we need to. I am also struggling with my fridge/freezer because I feel like it's either totally empty or ridiculously, overflowingly full. I also feel like when it's full I end up buying things I had in there anyway and for some reason once I freeze something I like to keep it forever. Freezing for me is more of an archive thing rather than a put it in here for now so it doesn't rot but make sure to actually use it, probably soon deal. I feel like a freezer in my mind is preparation for the apocalypse. I don't know why, but case in point: tomatoes. We had a ridiculous amount of cherry tomatoes this year, so I would blend and freeze them in bags. Haven't used one yet, though I have a BUNCH, and I have made things in which they would have been perfect. And known it at the time but not been able to use them. I know not from where my issue comes. My freezer is a little library, only instead of books it's ziploc bags of tomatoes, squashes, wine and stock. (fill a bag, freeze it flat, stand it up and file! and keep! forever!) The first step is admitting I have a problem, and I'm working through it.

Anyway, I decided last weekend to begin tracking spending (last Sunday to be specific, because last Sat we went to a slow foods dinner, which we had to bring a dish to that I naively thought had to be made of local food so I shot my wad at the farmer's market. I was wrong, the dinner wasn't quite what we were looking for, but now we know what that's all about.) Back to the grocery thing: we both make decent scratch and not having kids gives one all sorts of luxury choices, like $10/lb coffee (which I justify as budget-y because it equals 2 starbucks cups), so I think we just don't bother being as smart as we could be because we don't totally need to. I do a lot of "ugh, I can't believe this cost x much" and then buying it anyway because I can. Lots of people can't and there's a big thing going on for the next month or to see what it's like to live on food stamps, which average less than $30 per person per week. Check it out. It comes at a good time for me, and sort of fits in with my plan.

So, anyway, you may recall my having a fit 6 months or so ago about not throwing away food. We've actually been doing ok with this one, as I've figured out that the problem is largely that I get bored eating most things more than twice so I've started recycling stuff into other food. Leftover pork roast that I didn't love got chopped up, sauteed with some onion, coriander and cumin seeds, added to black beans and voila! white girl wannabe Cuban pork deliciousness. Chicken soup gets boiled down, thickened up, padded with more veggies and becomes chicken pot pie. Those are the only two I have so far, but I'm feeling pretty good about the concept. My dad used to do it all the time and so I know I have the raw materials to make it work.

This ties in with the above freezer ramble because to the end of saving money, stopping wasting food, not using anything just once, and not shopping for what I already need, this week I am not going to the grocery store. Ok, that's a lie I'm going to the store, but not in the "ooh I saw this recipe online today so I'm going to stock up on what I need to make it" way. The only things I'm going to buy are under $20 total worth of milk, and some more vegetables (a one time deal) because I don't think I have enough of those to make it through. But otherwise, I think that's about all I'm allowing myself to buy. Things one needs to survive that can't be replaced or made. I have a ridiculous amount of shit in the pantries, I refuse to believe that I can't cabinet commando a miracle a day for a whole week. My goto starch is rice, but I have couscous and all manner of other random grains kicking it cupboard style, and I think it's time we got to know one another.

I actually had this fit/epiphany last night and was able to scare up a decent african groundnut stew just out of things I had in the freezer. Normally I would have gone ot the store for carrots, yams and spinach but in keeping with my boycott I just made it without and subbed in some kale
I did however use some couscous. This is what real progress looks like bitches!